If shareware prices double in 2010, can you still afford to upgrade?

[zridling]

Would you keep buying a shareware app if its price doubles in 2010?



I've seen a few programs already pre-announce new prices for next year (or their next version) that is twice the cost. Perhaps some of this can be attributed to high transaction fees (PayPal, etc.) or to the USDollar's drastic decline. There may be other reasons, but will you be able to continue to upgrade at twice the current price?

[scancode]

Option #1: FLOSS
Option #2: Piracy
Option #3: The Fine Devs realize that we're not buying anymore and drop the prices.

[CleverCat]

On my Pension? (+- $130 per month) not likely!

[TucknDar]

I would certainly be very picky about the software I'd buy/upgrade...

[Josh]

I am already picky on the applications I buy. But I will buy an application if it does the job and it does it well. I don't "settle" for free if it does the job in a half-assed manner. One thing I cannot stand is settling for "good enough", which is why I am where I am at in my career.

[app103]

When it comes to upgrading payware, unless the upgrade is free for registered users or there is some sort of security issue involved, I am usually lagging behind a version or 2.

It really depends on the application, how much I depend on it, and whether or not there are cheaper (or free) alternatives that I find acceptable as a substitute.

It also depends on the final price. I sort of cap my budget for how much I am willing to pay for anything, not just software, to something I find reasonable.

If an application that was previously $10 doubles to $20, I might still upgrade because it falls within reasonable price to pay and doesn't hit the cap. But if something that was previously $40 doubles to $80, I probably wouldn't upgrade unless I could obtain a discount to bring it back down to something I find reasonable.

[Stoic Joker]

Option #1: FLOSS
Option #2: Piracy
Option #3: The Fine Devs realize that we're not buying anymore and drop the prices.

-scancode (November 06, 2009, 01:22 AM)

That sounds about right.

[40hz]

The 'magic number' seems to be around $29 for shareware. From my experience, once you start going much over that, there's increasing customer resistance.

Option #1: FLOSS
Option #2: Piracy
Option #3: The Fine Devs realize that we're not buying anymore and drop the prices.

-scancode (November 06, 2009, 01:22 AM)

That sounds about right.

-Stoic Joker (November 06, 2009, 05:56 AM)

Bingo! (Except I think the 'piracy' option probably comes first for most people. )

[Paul Keith]

No. I can barely afford any now. (but I've never ever payed for shareware ever though)

Option #1: FLOSS

-scancode (November 06, 2009, 01:22 AM)

Many applications rarely updated. Few are rarely the best or user friendliest options.

Option #2: Piracy

Lots of public trackers going down. Even still, there are lots of popular software that aren't available. Ultra Recall, Surfulator, etc. etc.

Option #3: The Fine Devs realize that we're not buying anymore and drop the prices.

I think that's a poor strategy.

Often times when a price gets hiked, many users feel paranoid and no longer put the software on their radar.

IMO the saving grace lies in freemium cloud services with desktop sync/file exports.

They're often not the best and EverNote is generally hated but it and DropBox are probably going to be the two stable applications because of their model.

I think services should just work together to double their customer base. There are still applications that are less well known because services rarely mention each other.

If there was a cloud/desktop service tie-in even though it might be not so stable because of different developers, I think paying customers would feel more comfortable to shell out their cash than the thought of a program probably reaching it's software peak and just increasing their price because of the economy.

The only reason I think price increase will make a huge difference in sales is if the developers made a meter that states they will donate x amount of cash to so and so charity depending on the rate of buyers and that they're going to lower the price for each additional software license the customer buys.

[cjseymour]

Interesting timing on this topic.  I use both Windows and Linux on a daily basis and just received an email from Ultra Edit for their UEX (Ultra Edit for Linux) software.  I already own a lifetime license for the Windows editor and was shocked to see that the cost for a lifetime license for UEX was $179.95.  This has left me to make a decision of using regular gedit (which does most of what I need), or to fork out a lot of money for a product I have grown comfortable with for over 10 years.  Given todays economy, this is not a simple decision anymore.

~Chris

[Innuendo]

Unless a program is 'knock-it-out-of-the-park' good I only buy if there's a lifetime license attached to the price. I'm sure sooner or later one of my lifetime licenses will be 'revoked' because the author just decided to rename his program to get out from under the license agreement, but it hasn't happened yet.
:: knock wood ::

[zridling]

If I were a shareware author in this economy, I might try the opposite tack and cut prices in half throughout 2010 and try to snag new users. A measurable percentage would extend their licenses to the next [2011] upgrade I'm sure. Codeweavers gave away 650,000 copies of their Crossover app last year, and have timed it perfectly with all the OS updates in October and November.

I am already picky on the applications I buy. But I will buy an application if it does the job and it does it well.

-Josh (November 06, 2009, 04:05 AM)

No argument there.

I use both Windows and Linux on a daily basis and just received an email from Ultra Edit for their UEX (Ultra Edit for Linux) software. I already own a lifetime license for the Windows editor and was shocked to see that the cost for a lifetime license for UEX was $179.95. This has left me to make a decision of using regular gedit (which does most of what I need), or to fork out a lot of money for a product I have grown comfortable with for over 10 years. Given today's economy, this is not a simple decision anymore. ~Chris

-cjseymour (November 06, 2009, 08:33 AM)

Love UltraEdit and used it for a number of years. Glad to hear they finally released the long-promised Linux version, wow! But at $180, they won't find many takers. $50/year or $40/year if you already own a license. That's not good considering that Gnome's gEdit is built like Firefox and has tons of add-ons to customize it however you need, and I use KDE's highly configurable Kate text editor. I don't spend nearly as much time in an editor as I used to, so I can't imagine have $180 -- or $50 each year -- to spend on just one app today, given several cloud options. Still, this is only one of two apps I'd want native to Linux (NewsLeecher being the other), and I might have to give it a shot.